Saturday, October 7, 2017

Oh, The Places We Go (Ten Things of Thankful)

Ten Things of Thankful

It's time again to join up with Ms. Josie, the hostess of Ten Things of Thankful, and remember that we have blessings galore. 

It's been a busy week, and i've been a lot of places.  Sweetie has been a lot of places, too.  While i do hate the fact that we seem to spend lifetimes in our vehicles, i am thankful that these places exist for us to go to them, and have goods or services we need when we get there.

One stop was the Post Office, to mail a book to a friend.  Many and loud are the complaints people have about post offices, but i have no complaints.  Not only was i served with a smile, there was almost no wait, and the very nice lady behind the counter pointed me toward a cheaper option that would get the book there just as well as the more expensive one.  Score one for the Post Office!

This past weekend, the home team played football here and Little Girl was unable to procure the programs for the game.  (Each of the children has a collection of programs from many seasons.).  Sweetie called someone at the university that he knew when he worked there, and he went to the media services office where they gave him several programs for free!  It isn't always easy with the traffic to get to the university and i'm sorry he had to make a special trip, yet i am grateful they have a media services department and are willing to help out in cases like this.

There's something to be said for Big Box Stores.  Fuss about them all you want, when you absolutely have to have something in a hurry and in a large quantity, they are fabulous.  While i don't always like the long lines, either, this week one of them proved invaluable.

There's also even more to be said for the MomAndPop Store near here.  It's convenient, has our favorite sandwich bread at a great price, and gives Sweetie someplace to go when he just wants to get out of the house and run an errand.  Sometimes i am most thankful to have an errand to send him on.

Hair salons are not always the first place i think of when i think of services for which i am thankful.  When it comes to hair cutting, however, if you want me to do it, you probably just don't care how you look, so i am glad they exist and there's a great one near here that does an excellent job.  (Not for me, for family.  My hair has not been cut since 1994.)

Don't like going to the bank?  Our bank is a credit union, and they make it easy to like being there.  When i get paid with checks, which is often, it's so nice to see a smiling face that's willing to deposit it for me, no problems.

Pet stores, especially those with decently priced leashes, are great places.  Since i have grand-dogs that visit so regularly, and that are not brought with leashes or collars or anything else, i am grateful i was able to get what i needed at a local store.

On that topic of pets, there are pet shelters that are great to visit, and volunteer at, also.  If you don't believe me, find one in your area and check it out, i think you will realize it feels great to help our animal friends.

Coffee shops are lovely to visit when you just need a bit of time away from the house.  It's not too expensive to get a simple cup of coffee, mostly what i am buying when i go is time to use the internet and breathe a different atmosphere.

Convenience stores and their attached gas pumps may not be glamorous, but i am grateful we have several nearby.  It would be worse to have to be on the road so much and have to travel a long distance for fuel.

Then there is my favorite place to go every week, and that is to church.  It's refreshing to my spirit and brings me much joy.

Do you have places you go, whether often or on occasion, for which you are very thankful?  Places that provide goods and services you need, even if they aren't very glamorous?  Share them, or any other list of thankfuls, in the comments here, or better yet on your blog, then link up with Ten Things of Thankful.  It's a feel good exercise you won't regret.


Today is:

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta -- Albuquerque, NM, US ("Where Dreams Take Flight" for 9 days of fun)

Apple Butter Festival -- Berkeley Springs, WV, US (simmering spicy apple butter in copper kettles in the town square, plus lots more; through tomorrow)

Bathtub Day -- can't confirm this one, but it's as good a day as any to be glad you have one!

Blessing of the Fishing Fleet -- Jetty #2, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa (a festival, and Portuguese food, and a blessing tomorrow from the local Catholic Archbishop)

BOL Foundation Day -- Laos

Chowder Days/Chowderfest -- Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT, US (a beautiful, and delicious, riverfront festival featuring seven kinds of New England Chowders; through Monday)

Cohocton Fall Foliage Festival -- Cohocton, NY, US (with the world famous tree-sitting contest; through tomorrow)

Feast Day of Ma'at -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Fell's Point Fun Festival -- Baltimore, MD, US (a festival in Baltimore's original seaport; through tomorrow)

Festival of the Deerk Toes -- Fairy Calendar (celebrating the toes on a fairy's "deerk", for which there is no human equivalent)

Harvest Celebration -- Billings Farm, Woodstock, VT, US ('tis the season, especially for apple cider and lots of pumpkins; through tomorrow)

If At First You Don't Succeed Day -- in honor of Frank Sinatra, whose CBS-TV musical variety show debuted on this day in 1950; it and the other two shows that followed didn't succeed, but he never gave up and had a great carreer

Inter-American Water Day -- begun in 1992 by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Inter-American Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering (AIDIS) and the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA

International Frugal Fun Day -- created by Shel Horowitz, author of The Penny-Pinching Hedonist; some of his ideas for how to celebrate are here 

Issaquah Salmon Days Festival -- Issaquah, WA, US (celebrates the return of the spawning salmon to the hatchery; through tomorrow)

Kentucky Apple Festival -- Paintsville, KY (apples, music, arts and crafts, antique cars, rides, food, and fun; through tomorrow)

Knox County Scenic Drive -- Knox County, IL, US (drive through up to 100 miles of scenic rural Spoon River Valley, with attractions at every stop; this weekend and next)

Lepanto Day -- Greece

Marching Band Festival -- Blinn College, Brenham, TX, US (if you love marching bands, this is the place to be; 42nd annual, 36 high school bands participating, 3,500+ musicians, and a special performance by the Blinn College Buccaneer Band as well)

Morro Bay Harbor Festival -- Morro Bay, CA, US (a working waterfront at play; through tomorrow)

Nagasaki Kunchi -- Nagasaki, Japan (harvest festival, through the 9th)

National Apple Harvest Festival -- Gettysburg, PA, US (this weekend and next)

National Flower Day -- US (anniversary of President Reagan signing the bill, in 1986, that made the rose the US National Flower)

National Frappe Day

Nones of October -- Ancient Roman Calendar; other observances
    Festival of Juno Cutitis and Jupiter Fulgor
    Victoria, Lady of Victories Day a/k/a Pallas Athena -- also celebrated by the Ancient Greeks

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary -- Catholic Christian

Oyster Festival -- Chincoteague Island, VA, US (oysters served almost every way imaginable, all you can eat!)

Sedona Arts Festival -- Sedona, AZ, US (celebration of visual, performing, and culinary arts, with proceeds going to student art programs and scholarships; through tomorrow)

Shaker Village Harvest Festival -- Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, New Gloucester, ME, US (with free demonstrations and paid workshops and events)

Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive -- Fulton County, IL, US (15 villages participate in arts and crafts, antiques, collectibles, demonstrations, and showing off the beauty of the fall foliage; through tomorrow and again next Saturday and Sunday)

St. Justina of Padua's Day (Patron of Padua, Italy; Santa Giustina, Italy)

Try To Start An Argument Over Which Is the Best Muppet Day -- Kermit, hands down (argue below, if you wish)(Possibly started by the International Association of People without a Life)

Vermont Apple Festival -- Springfield, VT, US (family fun, farm animals, food, farmer's market, crafts, and apples; a true family oriented event held at Riverside Middle School)

Woofstock -- Wichita, KS, US (celebrate peace, love and pets; bring your pup and participate as all proceeds go to the Kansas Humane Society)

World Card Making Day -- Paper Crafts Magazine started it all in 2006 and suggests you have fun and make a card or two or three on the first Saturday of October each year

You Matter To Me Day -- because the phrase "you matter to me" can make a profound difference in someone's life 


Anniversaries Today:

Larry King married Julie Alexander, 1989
Dow Jones makes the first report, in the Wall Street Journal, of an average of the prices of 12 industrial stocks, 1896



Birthdays Today:

Toni Braxton, 1967
Simon Cowell, 1959
Michael W. Smith, 1957
Yo-Yo Ma, 1955
Vladimir Putin, 1952
John Cougar Mellencamp, 1951
Joy Behar, 1943
Charles Dutoit, 1936
Thomas Keneally, 1935
Amiri Baraka, 1934
Bishop Desmond Tutu, 1931
Al Martino, 1927
R. D. Laing, 1927
June Allyson, 1917
Vaughn Monroe, 1911
Andy Devine, 1905
Niels Bohr, 1885
Thomas J. Wise, 1859
James Whitcomb Riley, 1849
Caesar Rodney, 1728(O.S. date)


Debuting/Premiering Today:

The Independent(Newspaper, first issue), 1986
"Cats"(Musical), 1982
"Route 66"(TV), 1960
"Your Hit Parade"(TV), 1950
"One Touch of Venus"(Musical), 1943
"Eve of St. Mark"(Play), 1942


Today in History:

The epoch of the modern Hebrew calendar (Proleptic Julian calendar), BC3761
The first public burning of books in Louvain, Netherlands, 1520
Ralph Wedgewood patents carbon paper in London, 1806
The first chartered railway in the US, the Granite Railway, begins operations, 1826
Spain abolishes slavery in Cuba, 1886
Henry Ford institutes the moving assembly line, 1913
Georgia Tech defeats Cumberland college in the infamous 222-0 football game, 1916
160 consecutive days of 100*F+ temperatures begin at Marble Bar, Australia, 1924
Beat poet Allen Ginsberg reads his poem "Howl" for the first time at a poetry reading in San Francisco, 1955
U.S.S.R. probe Luna 3 transmits first ever photographs of the far side of the moon, 1959
Nigeria joins the United Nations, 1960
Oman joins the United Nations, 1971
Cats opens on Broadway and begins a run of nearly 18 years, 1982 
The Great Flood of 1993 ends at St. Louis, Missouri, 103 days after it began, 1993
Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, is found tied to a fence after being savagely beaten, 1998
The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan begins, 2001
A Southampton University research fellow discovers a long lost Antonio Vivaldi flute concerto at the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh, 2010

13 comments:

  1. Those sure are ten great things to be thankful for sure. We too are thankful for all those things too. Have a great day.

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  2. That is a great thankful list. I have been very lucky with our post office too and all the ones in the area too. Have a great weekend!

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  3. Mimi,

    I don't like shopping so it's hard to find a lot of good about the stores I visit because there's not a single store that has everything I need on my list which means I have to go to two or three others on some trips to complete my shopping. The post office can be a crazy place but most often the postal service personnel are nice. I just avoid the post office during their peak mailing season at all cost if I can. It's nice that you found reasons to be thankful in these service facilities and really we all should and to feel blessed that we can do these things even when it's a bother. Thanks for sharing your thankful list!

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  4. Our post office is a great place too. Always a smile and very helpful.

    Costco is a place you have to drag me into. My husband does the bulky items at Costco and I head to Raley's for everything else. It works for us.

    Love your thankful posts, but all your posts are thankful.

    Have a fabulous weekend. ♥

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  5. Our pubic library and few local museums of which I am a member are nice breaks from the chaos of life. I also love the local state and county parks and simple bench in the shade.

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  6. Still chuckling at Tabor's comment! Agree with her - the library is on my thankful list, too. I'm thankful that I live in the country with good facilities not too far away and I know where to go for service with a smile.

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  7. What a list! I have to say I hate shopping, but Best Buy is a standard visit on new release Tuesday. Gotta get the new Blu-Ray releases for the week, you know. There are days I'd rather just stay at home, but the cats mandate Tuesday evening television as New Release viewing night. Can't disappoint them (or the wife). Later!

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  8. Nice list! A reminder that thankfuls can be places as simple as...the post office. I too have had good experiences at the post office in spite of the bad publicity lol. I was mailing a huge, very heavy book last month. I happened to mention to the clerk it was a book and yay! he told me they had a special book rate. Made me happy.
    Haven't been in a box store in years but I can see the advantage if you don't like regular shopping. Buy a bunch now and you don't have to go back for a month!

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  9. Again with the themed TToT. Such a cool idea and so well executed. It's sort of a combination story and list all rolled into one fun read.
    cool

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  10. I have to agree with many of the places on your list, but I think my favorite place would have to be home. :-)

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  11. This was a wonderful list of the many places we go and depend on in our lives, Mimi! It is rare for me to have a bad experience in such places, I think much has to do with the attitude we present when we go there. :-) I chuckled at you sending Sweetie out on an errand, yes sometimes those little breaks are nice! Your animal shelter rescue work is such a precious gift to the critters and the community. There is something each of us can do to help! When I fuss about a 30 minute trip to town for some small thing, I think about life for my mother and my grandmothers, who had to make do with what they could at home and trips to town were weekly at most and money for procuring things was scarce. Our lives are so filled with conveniences by comparison. One of my favorite in-town stops is Hobby Lobby, always beautiful projects to look at and consider, and the tiny city pond with its ducks and benches, and moments for peace and remembering places with water and trees! :-)

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  12. Such useful services and we should all be more thankful for them in our daily lives. Having a coffee after running errands is a nice reward. Church is the place to go to think about all life's thankfuls.

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